Method for producing fibers having a low surface energy and fibers, yarns and textiles having a low surface energy

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for producing a low surface energy fiber having a long-term liquid repellency and anti-stain effect. 
     The present invention relates to an addition of a specific ratio of low surface energy additives to a thermoplastic polymer used as a spinning raw material, which is subjected to spinning processing procedure, such as melting spinning, to produce fibers with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

The present application is directed to a production method of fibers, and specifically to a production method of fibers having a low surface energy.

2. Description of the Related Art

The existing textiles having a low surface energy (low surface tension) are usually produced by a processing procedure of applying a low surface energy aid to a fabric, such as by means of coating, dipping, padding, etc., to allow the low surface energy aid to adsorb onto the fabric, and then fixing the aid onto the fabric at a heating temperature of about 100˜210° C.

TW Patent Application No. 098110619 (hereinafter, D1) discloses a production method of yarns having water repellency, wherein the yarns to be treated are allowed to pass through a reagent vessel containing a water repellent agent, and then pass through a heat treatment unit to fixing the water repellent agent on the yarns to be treated to form yarns having water repellency. However, said method requires movement through a reagent vessel unit and a heat treatment unit in a series. In addition to a long processing time and increasing costs, the water repellent agent is scorched on the heat treatment unit due to the heat. Further, since the water repellent agent only adsorbs onto the surface of the yarns, it may transfer to other yarns which are not desired to become water repellent during subsequent treatments (such as yarn binding treatment).

In addition, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN101984154 (hereinafter, D2) discloses a production method of a water repellent polyester fiber, wherein the water repellent agent is directly added into the spinning finishing oil, and thereby the water repellent agent directly adsorbs onto the fiber surface during a melting spinning procedure in order to prepare fibers having water repellency. However, during the latter processing procedure of this method, since the water repellent agent adsorbing onto the fiber surface is prone to adhering on the hot plate after heating, scorched fouling (which cannot be easily cleaned and scratched) is produced. This not only leads to hot plate equipment damage, but the textile properties are also affected owing to a non-uniform heating of fiber.

Moreover, after water washing the water repellent fibers/yarns produced by the aforementioned prior arts for several times, the water repellent agent adsorbing on the fibers/yarns is prone to being washed out. Specifically, after subjected to water washing according to AATCC (Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists)-135 Standard, the water repellent effect of fibers will become significantly worsen.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present application studied and conducted experiments to provide fibers having a low surface energy and a production method thereof, thereby improving the disadvantages existing in the known spinning production techniques and producing fibers having excellent liquid repellency and anti-fouling effect at low production costs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a production method of fibers having a low surface energy comprises the following steps:

formulating a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a lower surface energy additive; and

subjecting said thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to melt spinning, followed by drawing and false twist processing to produce fibers with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

According to another embodiment of the present application, a production method of fibers having a low surface energy comprises the following steps:

formulating a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a lower surface energy additive; and

subjecting said thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to melt spinning, drawing and setting to produce a fully drawn yarn (FDY) with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

According to a further embodiment of the present application, a production method of fibers having a low surface energy comprises the following steps:

formulating a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a lower surface energy additive; and

subjecting said thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to melt spinning, multi-stage drawing and setting to produce a high tenacity yarn (HTY) with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

The production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention can shorten processing time and reduce equipment volume and costs, since the low surface energy additive is added into the spinning raw materials at the spinning raw material stage and it is unnecessary to pass through a reagent vessel of water repellent agent and a heat treatment unit in series as required by D1. In addition, different from D1, the low surface energy additive is incorporated into the spinning raw materials at the spinning raw material stage in the present invention, and thus the application of the water repellent agent onto the yarn surface during a subsequent processing as required by D1 can be omitted, thereby avoiding a poor situation caused by heating a water repellent to scorch when yarns pass through a heat treatment unit. The scorching resulting from heating the water repellent agent to adhere onto a hot plate during a latter spinning processing as required by D2 can be also omitted. Further, since the prepared fibers have a surface tension of 25˜72 dyne/cm, they have excellent liquid repellency and anti-fouling effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is an illustrative FIGURE showing a measurement of a water droplet contact angle of a textile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, the spinning raw materials can be thermoplastic polymers such as polyesters, polyamides or polyolefins, etc. Specifically, examples of polyester polymers can be polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), cationic dyeable polyester, recycled PET, BioPET and polylactic acid (PLA), etc. Examples of polyamides can be nylon 6, nylon 66 and nylon 46, etc. In addition, examples of polyolefin polymers can be polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), etc.

In order to produce the fibers having a low surface energy described below, the present invention adds a specific low surface energy additive to the aforementioned thermoplastic polymer before melting spinning said thermoplastic polymer. Considering that the low surface energy additive added into the thermoplastic polymer should be free from deterioration at a high temperature during melting spinning procedure, the present invention selects fluorine-series additives with a high thermal resistance, such as the fluorine-series low surface energy aid of model FC-L624 produced by GOULSTON company.

In the present invention, a low surface energy additive is added into a thermoplastic polymer in an amount of 0.1 wt %˜30 wt %. When the amount of a low surface energy additive is lower than 0.1 wt %, the effect for reducing the surface energy of fibers is insufficient. On the other hand, when the amount of a low surface energy additive is higher than 30 wt %, the costs relatively increase and the production becomes difficult, even though the effect for reducing the surface energy of fibers is good.

In the present invention, a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1 wt %˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive as a spinning raw material can be obtained by: adding 0.1 wt %˜30 wt %, based on the total amounts of the monomers, of a low surface energy additive to the monomers, followed by polymerization in the process of using monomers; or alternatively, blending thermoplastic polymer particles containing a specific amount (such as 1˜60 wt %) of a low surface energy additive with thermoplastic polymer particles free of a low surface energy additive such that the concentration of the low surface energy additive is 0.1˜30 wt % after blending.

The production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention allows a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive to eject from a spinneret of a spinning machine in a mono spinning or composite spinning manner at a molten state; wind at a spinning rate of 2500˜3500 m/min (in the case of producing partially oriented yarn (POY)) or at a spinning rate of 3500˜6000 m/min (in the case of producing high oriented yarn (HOY)); and then false twist at a winding rate of 100˜1300 m/min and at a hot plate temperature of 60˜400° C.

(DTY) or air false twist at a winding rate of 100˜800 m/min and at a hot plate temperature of 60˜400° C. (ATY) to produce fibers having a low surface energy.

In addition, the production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention also allows a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive to eject from a spinneret of a spinning machine in a mono spinning or composite spinning manner at a molten state, and melting spin, draw and set at a spinning rate of 1000˜6000 m/min, drawing ratio of 1.0˜10, drawing temperature of 25˜200° C. and setting temperature of 60˜260° C. to produce a fully drawn yarn (FDY) having a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

Further, the production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention also allows a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive to eject from a spinneret of a spinning machine in a mono spinning or composite spinning manner at a molten state, and multi-stage draw the thermoplastic polymer at a spinning rate of 1000˜6000 m/min, drawing temperature of 25˜200° C. and setting temperature of 60˜260° C., with a total drawing ratio of 1.0˜10, to produce a high tenacity yarn (HTY) having a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

During the production process of fibers having a low surface energy according to the present invention, other functional additives such as flame retardants, heat accumulating and insulating agents, anti-ultraviolet agents, anti-statistic agents, fluorescence brighteners, antibacterial agents, delustering agents or color concentrates, etc. may further be added, depending on the demands.

In addition, in the production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention, fibers with a circle, a non-circle or composite cross section can be formed by melt spinning depending on the demands.

Further, in the production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention, dyed fibers can be produced by dope dyeing or piece-dyeing. The processing conditions for dope dyeing and piece-dyeing can be those disclosed by commonly known techniques.

In addition, in the production method of fibers having a low surface energy of the present invention, filament products or staple products having a low surface energy can be produced depending on the demands.

The fibers having a low surface energy produced by the production method of the present invention can be solely composed of yarns having a low surface energy or further be composited with other fibers to form yarns having a low surface energy.

According to the present invention, the fibers having a low surface energy or the yarns having a low surface energy prepared as stated above can be used for preparation of prepare related textiles by textile techniques known in the industry.

The surface tensions of common liquid are as following: water 72 dyne/cm, wine 45 dyne/cm, milk 43 dyne/cm, peanut oil 40 dyne/cm, olive oil 32 dyne/cm, gasoline 28 dyne/cm. The fibers having a low surface energy, yarns having a low surface energy and textiles of the present invention have good liquid repellency toward these liquids for their surface tensions of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Polyethylene terephthalate (A) particles and polyethylene terephthalate particles containing 30 wt % of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (B) were blended in an AB ratio of =90/10; melt spun at a spinning rate of 2800 m/min at 288° C.; followed by a false twist processing procedure (DTY) at a winding rate of 600 m/min, a hot plate temperature of 230° C. and a drawing ratio of 1.75 to produce fibers containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 2

Polyethylene terephthalate (A) particles and polyethylene terephthalate particles containing 30 wt % of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (B) were blended in an A/B ratio of =90/10; melt spun at a spinning rate of 2800 m/min at 288° C.; followed by a fully drawn yarn processing at a spinning rate of 4000 m/min, a drawing temperature of 85° C., a setting temperature of 130° C. and a drawing ratio of 2.1 to produce fibers containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 3

Polyethylene terephthalate (A) particles and polyethylene terephthalate particles containing 30 wt % of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (B) were blended in an A/B ratio of =90/10, followed by HOY processing at a spinning rate of 4500 m/min at a melting temperature of 288° C. to produce fibers containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 4

Polyethylene terephthalate (A) particles and polyethylene terephthalate particles containing 30 wt % of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (B) were blended in an A/B ratio of =90/10, and subjected to HOY processing at a spinning rate of 4500 m/min at a melting temperature of 288° C., followed by an air false twist processing (ATY) at a winding rate of 200 m/min to produce fibers containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 5

Polyethylene terephthalate (A) particles and polyethylene terephthalate particles containing 30 wt % of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (B) were blended in an A/B ratio of =60/40, melt spun a spinning rate of 2600 m/min at 285° C., followed by a false twist processing procedure (DTY) at a winding rate of 600 m/min, a hot plate temperature of 230° C. and a drawing ratio of 1.8 to produce fibers containing 20 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to become textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 6

66 g of succinic acid, 72.6 g of butanediol and 3.05 g of a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) were mixed and polymerized at a polymerization temperature of 245° C. to produce 102.5 g of polybutylene succinate containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive, which were wound up at a spinning rate of 2600 m/min at a melting temperature of 200° C., followed by a false twist processing procedure (DTY) at a winding rate of 600 m/min, a hot plate temperature of 190° C. and a drawing ratio of 1.70 to produce fibers containing 3 wt % of a low surface energy additive. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 1

False twisted yarns prepared from 75D/72F of polyethylene terephthalate pass through a reagent vessel containing a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) in order that the low surface energy additive adsorbs onto the surface thereof. A heat treatment was conducted by a heat roller at 150° C. to allow the low surface energy additive to fix on the false twisted yarns and form false twisted yarns having a low surface energy. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic are measured. The results were shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 2

Polyethylene terephthalate as a spinning raw material was melt spun at 288° C. and a spinning rate of 3000 m/min, and the thus obtained spun yarns were oiled with spinning finishing oil containing a fluorine-series low surface energy additive (FC-L624, produced by GOULSTON company) (oiling ratio: 0.6%), followed by a false twist processing procedure (DTY) at a winding rate of 600 m/min, a hot plate temperature of 230° C. and a drawing ratio of 1.67 to produce fibers having water repellency. The thus produced fibers are woven to form textiles, and the surface tension value, water droplet contact angle and water repellent test characteristic were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

The physical properties of the textiles produced in the examples and comparative examples of the present invention were measured and assessed by the following methods.

1. Water Droplet Contact Angle

A 0.5 cc of water droplet was dropped on the surface of the textiles obtained from examples and comparative examples, and the contact angle (θ) between the water droplet and textile was measured, as shown in FIG. 1.

2. Textile Surface Tension Test

Inks with different surface tensions (commercially available dyne pens) were respectively used to brush ink traces of about 10 cm of length on the textiles obtained from examples and comparative examples, and the ink traces were observed to confirm whether they shrink and form ink droplet within 2 seconds. If it happens, an ink of a lower surface tension was subsequently used to brush a trace and the trace was then observed. The procedure was repeated until an ink trace does not shrink and form an ink droplet, and this is the corresponding surface tension the textile possesses.

3. Water Repellency Test

The textiles obtained from examples and comparative examples were cut into a size of 180 mm×180 mm and the specimens were fixed at hoops located on a base in a manner that the surfaces for water repellent test face upside at a declination angle of 45 degrees. 250 cc of water was flowed over the textile surface in 30 seconds. The specimens were unloaded from the base and slightly patted. The assessment was conducted according to FTTS-FA-011.

-   -   100: Surface is not wetted.     -   90: Surface is slight wetted.     -   80: Surface is wetted in a form of scattering water droplet.     -   70: Surface is mostly wetted.     -   50: Surface is all wetted.     -   0: Thoroughly wetted.

4. Scorched Fouling Accumulation on the Hot Plate.

After running one day, the heating units (hot plates or hot rollers) used in the examples and comparative examples were observed to evaluate the scorched fouling in accordance with the following manner:

-   -   Massive scorched fouling appears: X     -   Little or no scorched fouling: ◯

TABLE 1 Water Scorched fouling droplet Surface Water accumulation contact tension repellency state on the angle θ (°) (dyne/cm) assessment hot plate Example 1 123 35 100 ◯ Example 2 120 37 100 ◯ Example 3 120 37 100 ◯ Example 4 123 35 100 ◯ Example 5 130 29 100 ◯ Example 6 122 36 100 ◯ Comparative 108 55 80 X Example 1 Comparative 100 53 80 X Example 2

Notwithstanding the present invention is disclosed by the above-mentioned examples in detail, those examples are not used to limit the present invention. A person in the art can make various alterations or modifications to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such alterations and modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention. 

1. A method for producing fibers having a low surface energy comprising step (i): formulating a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1 wt %˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive; and one of the following steps: step (ii-a): subjecting the thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to conduct melt spinning, followed by drawing and false twist processing to produce fibers with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm; step (ii-b): subjecting the thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to conduct melt spinning, drawing and setting to produce a fully drawn yarn (FDY) with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm; or step (ii-c): subjecting the thermoplastic polymer as a spinning raw material to conduct melt spinning, multi-stage drawing and setting to produce a high tenacity yarn (HTY) with a surface tension of between 25˜72 dyne/cm.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1 wt %˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive is obtained by adding 0.1 wt %˜30 wt %, based on the total amount of monomers, of the low surface energy additive to the monomers and carrying out polymerization using monomers.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic polymer containing 0.1 wt %˜30 wt % of a low surface energy additive is obtained by blending thermoplastic polymer particles containing 1˜60 wt % of a low surface energy additive with thermoplastic polymer particles free of a low surface energy additive in such a manner that the concentration of the low surface energy additive is 0.1˜30 wt % after blending.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the low surface energy additive is a fluorine-series additive.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fibers formed by melt spinning have a circle, a non-circle or composite cross section.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the melt spinning is selected from mono spinning or composite spinning.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein dyed fibers are produced by dope dyeing or piece-dyeing.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from polyesters, polyamides or polyolefins.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the polyesters are selected from the group consisting of polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), cationic dyeable polyester, recycled PET, BioPET and polylactic acid (PLA).
 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the polyamides are selected from the group consisting of nylon 6, nylon 66 and nylon
 46. 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the polyolefins are selected from the group consisting of PE and PP.
 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fibers produced by drawing are partially oriented yarns (POY) or high oriented yarns (HOY).
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the false twist processing is false twist (DTY) processing or air false twist (ATY) processing.
 14. A fiber having a low surface energy, which is produced by the method according to claim
 1. 15. A yarn having a low surface energy, which is solely composed of the fibers having a low surface energy according to claim 14 or is formed by compositing the fibers having a low surface energy according to claim 14 with other fibers.
 16. A textile, which comprises a fiber having a low surface energy according to claim
 14. 17. A textile, which essentially consists of yarns having a low surface energy according to claim
 15. 